A 2010 conviction was overturned in 2016, leaving Levy's family still searching for justice.
The disappearance of Chandra Levy -- one of the most high-profile missing persons cases of the early 2000s -- is marking its 25th anniversary, a somber milestone that underscores the many questions that remain unanswered.
Levy was a 24-year-old intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons when she vanished on May 1, 2001, after completing her assignment in Washington, D.C. A recent graduate of the University of Southern California, she had been preparing to return home to California when she disappeared without a trace, sparking a massive search and intense national media attention.
More than a year later, in May 2002, her remains were discovered in Rock Creek Park. Authorities ruled her death a homicide, but the circumstances surrounding her final moments remained unclear.
The case quickly became entangled in political controversy due to Levy's relationship with then-congressman Gary Condit, who was married. Though Condit initially denied having had an affair with Levy, he later acknowledged it after authorities matched him to DNA evidence collected from Levy's underwear in her apartment. Condit was never charged in connection with Levy's disappearance, and his attorney has emphasized he had been "long ago completely exonerated by authorities in connection with the death of Chandra Levy."
Years later, investigators arrested Ingmar Guandique, who had previously attacked two women in the same park. In 2010, he was convicted of Levy's murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison -- a moment that appeared to bring long-awaited answers to her grieving family.
But that sense of closure would not last.
In 2016, prosecutors moved to drop the charges against Guandique, saying they could no longer prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt following concerns about a key witness. The decision reopened wounds for Levy's parents, Susan and Robert Levy, who had spent more than 15 years searching for answers.
"I feel shattered," Susan Levy told PEOPLE at the time. "It's hard to accept that my daughter's death is a cold case again."
The reversal came after what prosecutors described as "recent unforeseen developments," including evidence that a crucial witness may have provided false testimony. Without a retrial, Guandique was ultimately released, and the case returned to an unsolved status.
Guandique was deported to his native El Salvador in 2017.
For Levy's family, the emotional toll has been enduring, and even after an arrest and conviction, the central question -- who killed Chandra Levy? -- remains unresolved.
"They are investigating the witness and the person who compromised the integrity of the witness," her father, Robert Levy, told PEOPLE in 2016, expressing hope that accountability would extend beyond the overturned conviction.
Despite the setbacks, Levy's mother has continued to call for answers and for the investigation to move forward.
"These wounds don't heal," Susan Levy said at the time. "I only wish we could get the person who killed her. Someone knows something and they need to come forward."